William Alwyn CBE, born William Alwyn Smith (7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.

William Alwyn was born in Northampton, where he showed an early interest in music and began to learn to play the piccolo. At the age of 15 he entered the Royal Academy of Music in London where he studied flute and composition. He was a virtuoso flautist and for a time was a flautist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Alwyn served as professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music from 1926 to 1955.

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